This Isn't A Dream, This Is A Nightmare
by TheDayDreamingWriter
Summary: Belle is back home. Only problem is, so is Riddler. He wants revenge. She just wants to be left alone. Sequel to 'I Have Got To Be Dreaming'.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **If you're reading this without having read my other fic, I Have Got To Be Dreaming, hop on over and read it. Otherwise this one will make no sense. :)

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I've been home for about 48 hours. So far, so good. Apart from the fact that I _may _be living down the street from the Riddler. It's kind of bizarre, just blending back into my ordinary, everyday life. To act like I didn't experience what was either something totally unexplainable, or the world's biggest, most realistic acid trip. But I _know_ it was real. None of the bruises, cuts or marks I got in Arkham City were there when I woke up. Except one. One tiny, circular scar, in the middle of my chest. Visible when I wear shirts with a low-ish neckline, though no one has mentioned it yet. Hell, I got shot and _died_ two days ago, and all anyone's said to me is 'Have you finished your English paper?' Seriously.  
Thankfully, it's Friday. Practically the weekend. And boy, do I have some plans. I'm going to find out what the heck Riddler is up to, if it's even him. I grab my backpack and head downstairs to say good bye to my Mom.  
"Okay, I'll see you tonight. I'm working late remember, so you'll have to sort out dinner for yourself."  
"Yeah, I know." I reply. Mom's a nurse at the nearby hospital. She works seriously long shifts and goes to night school on top of that to 'further her education.' She wants to specialise in children's health. I grab a slice of toast, pat my puppy, Jake, on the head and leave. At the door, I'm faced with a problem. I can take the long way to school, following the roads, which takes about half an hour. Or, I can take a short cut down our street and through the park, which will only take half the time. Only problem is, the shortcut goes past the house that may or may not be housing a DC villain. I check my watch. Looks like time has made my decision for me. If I want to get to school remotely on time, I'll have to cut through the park. A couple of deep, calming breaths and I'm on my way.  
As I near the house, I kick my pace up a notch. I keep my eyes glued forward, not daring to look at the house, in case my fears are confirmed. What would that even mean? Riddler, _here_, in the real world. Not freaking possible. But he might be. And no matter how you look at it, it's bad news for me. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms.  
I make it to school almost on time, and slide into my desk in Homeroom, just in time to be excused for my first class. I grab my books and head for science. Taking my usual seat up the back, I pull out my homework, that I _know _is all wrong. Crazy to think just a few days ago I was helping Batman, and now I'm worried that I don't understand organic molecules as well as I should. The teacher comes around and I hand him my homework, and proceed to daydream as he starts the lesson. By about 15 minutes in I know exactly how to figure out if it's really Riddler in that house or not.  
I'm going to break in.

It's crazy, I know. But I know what I'm doing. The house used to belong to a crazy old lady, and she let me use her kick ass heated pool in the backyard. Actually, it wasn't so much 'let me use' as it was 'didn't know I was jumping the fence and taking midnight swims.' But whatever. The point is, I never got caught. All I have to do is get in the backyard, creep up to the house and peep in the window. Then I'll be able to tell if it's really him or just some random guy who looks creepy like one of the Gotham Rouges. Simple.  
The best time to do it would be tonight. My Mom will be working, so I won't have to come up with some half-assed excuse to get out of the house at a ridiculously late time.  
For the rest of the day all I do is plan my brilliant stake out. By the time three o'clock rolls around, I'm totally prepared to do this. I get home and dump my bag on the kitchen floor and say hello to Jake. I run up the stairs two at a time and head straight for my sock drawer and dig around in the back before triumphantly pulling out the lock pick kit I got off eBay for $9.99. Score. I grab it and my flashlight and head back downstairs.  
Time drags on. I watch TV. I make a snack. Watch more TV. Think about doing my homework. Keep watching TV. Finally, _finally_, midnight rolls round. I am literally a bundle of nerves. I get dressed quickly into a pair of dark green camo pants and black long sleeved tee shirt. I figure I've got an hour and a half, maybe two hours before my Mom comes home. But that shouldn't be a problem, seeing as I'm only going in, checking whether or not it's Riddler, and getting out.  
I slap on my sneakers, grab the flashlight and lock pick kit (just in case) and duck out the back door. The house is only four houses down from mine, so I grab the fence and hoist myself up. I drop into my neighbour's yard and dart across the lawn and repeated the process at the next fence. At last, I drop into Riddler's yard. All the windows are dark except for one. I skirt the pool and creep up to the window, poking my head up to see inside. It looks to be a study, lit dimly by a lamp. It has a bookshelf, a chair, a desk, and one serious looking computer.  
"Okay…" I whisper to myself, frowning. "That definitely looks like something Riddler would have in his house." I hear footsteps echoing in the house and drop to the ground. The chair squeaks and I chance a look up. There's a man sitting at the desk now. Tall, slender, with brown hair. Very familiar. I stop glaring at the back of the man's head long enough to notice what's on the computer screen. It's a video feed of a room. Holy crap, I know that room! It's my Homeroom at school, I'm almost positive. The man taps a couple of keys and a new image appears. My English classroom. Then my Science room. Then my Maths, Geography and History rooms. This creep had all of my classrooms on camera! If there was any doubt whether this is Riddler or not, there isn't now. Who else would be watching me?  
"Son of a _bitch_!" I say, just a little too loudly. I catch a glimpse of Riddler swivelling around before I drop to the ground. I lay face down, breathing heavily into the dirt for a moment.  
"Well, this _is _a surprise." Crap. I'm busted. I get up as gracefully as I can and brush some of the dirt off myself. There he is, standing casually in front of me. Brilliant.  
"Riddler." I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "What the _hell_ are you _doing_ here?" Well, so much for the steady voice.  
"I couldn't just let you _go_, Belle." He replies. "Not after that fascinating story you told me. And imagine my surprise to find out it's all _true_."  
"Great to know. Now leave." I retort.  
"Oh I don't think so. Why don't you come inside?" He grins.  
"Oh I don't think so." I mock. "This is my world. I live with my mother. I go to school. Here people are going to notice if you lock me in your spare room." I smile sweetly. I've got him. My disappearance isn't going to go unnoticed here like it did in Arkham City. His smile turns to something more sinister, more unhinged.  
"Fine. But don't think you're safe just because you're surrounded by people. Batman's not here to save you this time." He says, the smile dropping from his face completely. "Leave. Before I change my mind." I don't need to be told twice. I hightail it out of there, jumping from one back yard to the other until I reach home. I walk inside, trying to catch my breath when I hear a car door slam. Mom's home! I bolt upstairs and dive into bed, under the covers and try to breath evenly. Mom sticks her head in moments later before, satisfied that I'm asleep, going to bed herself.  
I let out a long breath. That was close. I need to figure out a way to get Riddler out of my street, out of my world and out of my _life_. When this is all over, I'm shoving all my Batman stuff in the attic and never looking at it again. Living it is more than enough.


	2. Chapter 2

"Morning Belle." Mom pushes a bowl of cereal in front of me as I take a seat at our dining table.  
"Morning Mom." I yawn. I'd gotten to bed at one o'clock but had stayed up much later, unable to stop thinking about the massive pain in my ass, Riddler. I still had no idea how I was going to get rid of him. Actually, I'd had a few ideas, my favourite being strap him to a rocket and send him to the moon, but none were particularly realistic. So I had nothing.  
"What are you doing today?" She asks. I shrug casually.  
"Homework, I guess. Might go for a walk or something later." I say.  
"Okay, don't go too far. I should be home for dinner. I'll see you tonight." She kisses the top of my head and I squirm away.  
"Mo-om." I complain. She laughs and grabs her bag and walks out the front door, off to work. I wait until I hear her car drive away before dashing upstairs and changing out of my pyjamas and into a pair of jeans and a ratty band tee shirt. I throw on an even rattier pair of Chuck Taylors and I'm ready to go. My fashion sense leaves much to be desired, but hey, I'm not exactly dressing to impress here.  
Plan A; Talk to Riddler. Tell him to get his butt out of my world. If that doesn't work, well, I'll figure something else out. To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm not totally sure what the etiquette rules are for telling someone to get the hell out of your reality.  
I grab the pocket knife my Dad gave me and shove it into the back pocket of my jeans. I'd never actually use it on a person, but Riddler doesn't need to know that. Besides, nothing puts a spring in a girls step quite like a concealed weapon.

Even though all I want to do is hide under my bed, I do the brave thing and walk down the street to Riddler's house. A couple of deep, calming breaths and I knock on his door. Three solid knocks. The door swings open to reveal a smirking Riddler.  
"Belle. To what do I owe this delightful surprise?" He asks. I barge past him, into the house. Stupid, I know, but I figure it'll throw him off guard for a moment.  
"I'm here to ask you to go home. Please." If my barging into his house didn't throw him off guard, the 'please' does.  
"You're asking me to leave. Not demanding, _asking_." He says, looking at me doubtfully.  
"Yep. Thought I'd try, see if you're at all a decent person." That makes him laugh.  
"Decent person? You claim to know all about me. Would you really call _me _a decent person?"  
"Fair point." I sigh. Then I actually look around the room. We're standing in the kitchen/dining room. Riddler's place is _nice_. Green is obviously the theme of the place, but everything is so modern. Everything is pristine and looks untouched. I walk into the living room, forgetting how rude it is to just wander around someone's house, uninvited. In the centre of the room is a long leather couch that looks black, but on closer inspection turns out to be a very dark green. Mounted on the wall in front of it is a _massive _TV.  
"Where did you get all this stuff?" I ask, gesturing around me. "It's not like you could just walk into a shop and buy it. Especially dressed like… wait, what the hell are you _wearing_?" I've only just noticed. Instead of his usual green question mark suit, he's wearing jeans. Freaking _jeans_. Don't even get me started on the Yankees tee shirt.  
"As much as I like my suit, I thought this would be more inconspicuous. And as for how I came by all this," He says, imitating my gesture towards the furniture, "That's for _me_ to know and you, well, _not_ to." I roll my eyes at him.  
"Okay then." I say, dropping onto his couch, feeling confident. If he tried to lay a finger on me here, I'd scream bloody murder and neighbours would come running. "What's the plan? What are you even here for?" He walks over and drops onto the other end of the couch, acting like he doesn't have a care in the world. Not going to lie, the whole 'casual Riddler' look suits him. _Really _suits him, if you know what I mean.  
And I'm sick for even thinking that.  
Riddler smirks like he knows exactly what I'm thinking, so I scowl at him.  
"Many reasons. I'm here because you're too interesting to let go. I'm here because we have unfinished business. But mostly, I'm here because I _can be_."  
I sit there for a few moments, pretending I'm not totally freaked out. I keep my expression calm, but I'm practically radiating tension. I'm not exactly comfortable knowing that I'm a big part of Riddler's reason to visit.  
"When you say unfinished business… how do you plan on finishing it?" I ask warily. He just sits there, giving me a great big 'I know something you don't know' smirk. I want to slap it off his stupid face.  
"Because I've got news for you, buddy. Things work a little differently here than they do in Gotham. The police aren't incompetent, they get things done. You try anything, _anything_, and they'll arrest you before you can say 'riddle me this'." I sit there, practically shaking in my boots, amazed by my stupidity. Once again I've mouthed off to _The Riddler_. The man who has more than likely planned my painful death in great detail. His smirk slowly changes from mocking to menacing, so I take it as my queue to leave. Just as I reach the door he grabs my arm and jerks me back.  
"Don't think your police force can protect you." He growls. "You're only alive right now because I find you entertaining. The _second _you become trouble for me, I'll get what I came here for."  
"And what's that?" I ask, meaning to sound brave but it comes out as a squeak.  
"Revenge." He gives me a full blown insane person smile and lets my arm go. I all but sprint out of there and don't stop till I'm safely in my kitchen.  
Man, I am _so _screwed.

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**A/N: **Woo Woo, Chapter 2! Let me know what you guys think so far! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **The F-bomb is dropped for the first and only time in here. Sorry!

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I get my hyperventilating under control and take a seat. I need to figure out how to deal with this, and figure it out _now._ I can't have a fictional character coming after me, looking for revenge. How would I explain _that _to my mother?  
'Oh, it's all cool Mom, it's just a character from the video game I was sucked into who followed me home and is after my blood. No biggie.'  
Yep, that'll go down _really _well. No, I have to keep all of this away from my Mom. I don't want her becoming collateral damage. This has to be dealt with carefully… like with me moving to China. Riddler would never find me there. All jokes aside, I have no idea what to do. I climb upstairs and sit on my bed, turning on my laptop. I type in 'How to get rid of a fictional character who won't leave you alone'. I scroll through pages and pages of pointless and useless search results, until on the sixth page, I hit pay dirt. It's the blog of some gamer, and his last few posts look familiar.  
"You guys will never believe this, you'll think I'm crazy." I read aloud. "But I'm not lying, I swear. I woke up in my game, The Legend of Merlin. It wasn't a dream, it was all as real as you and me. I was there for _weeks_. The magic was real, the knights were real, and their swords were real. I got cut, and it bled, I felt pain. That doesn't happen in a dream! Scariest part is, I died. I'm pretty sure that's how I got home. You die in the game, you get home. Just thank God it's over."Three days ago, (or three weeks, depending on whose timeframe you're looking at) I would have called these the ramblings of a crazy person. Now, I'm positive this guy went through the same thing I did! I read on.  
"I'm glad to be home. Modern miracles like internet, warm running water, and indoor plumbing! I'll never take anything for granted again.  
Had a flashback today. My town is having a Renaissance Fair in two weeks time, and a few people have come early. And one of them is dressed as a Black Knight. The Black Knight is the one who killed me in my game. He seemed to have some sort of vendetta against me personally… So seeing him in town today nearly gave me a heart attack!" I'm getting a bad feeling about this, but I keep reading.  
"This is even crazier, but I swear, the Black Knight is following me. I see him everywhere. He's outside my school, outside the arcade, I think I even saw him outside my house last night! I'm starting to get paranoid. What if something, or someone, followed me out of the game, to here? Is that even possible?" With each new post my heart sank lower and lower.  
"It's him. I know it is. Somehow he followed me here, and he's going to kill me again. I don't know what to do. I'm going to the Renaissance Fair tomorrow with my friends, and I know he'll be there. Anyone, help me. I know I'm going to die." I have tears in my eyes. This poor kid. His profile says he's only a few months older than me. And a knight is a hell of a lot scarier than some weirdo obsessed with riddles.  
"I know it's been over six months since I last posted. I'll tell you all what happened, but not yet. When I'm ready." There's only one more post left, dated three months later.  
"So, I'm still alive. But there's no point. I beat the Black Knight though. I was at the Fair when he attacked. I heard the clinking of amour behind me and there he was. I ran, but he caught up to me behind one of the tents. He unsheathed his sword and swung it at me. It caught me on my thigh, leaving a four inch cut. My cry was probably what drew the crowd. He lunged at me, but I grabbed the sword and took it from him (a move I learnt from Sir Lancelot). I stabbed him. Right through his stomach. There was so much blood… I was horrified by what I'd done, but when it's your life or theirs… It's terrifyingly easy. To kill someone, I mean. I looked up, and a huge crowd was just coming around the side of the tent.  
I suppose I can't blame them, seeing me covered in blood, standing over a dead body, still holding the sword into him, that they thought I was a dangerous psychopath. I was arrested immediately, of course. Apparently ranting and raving about how he wasn't a real person, just a character who had come out of the game you were sucked into and how he was trying to kill you will get you a one way ticket to an asylum.  
Which is where I am now. I have internet privileges because of good behaviour and how much 'progress' I've made. Of course, if they saw what I was writing now, I'd be back at square one. But I don't care. Now you know what really happened. You know the truth."

I sit on my bed, tears silently coursing down my cheeks. Is that what's going to happen to me? I'll be condemned to an asylum, with no hope of release? Because I can't handle that. Driven by emotion, I dart downstairs and down the street until I'm pounding on Riddler's front door. He opens the door, but whatever remark he was about to make dies in his throat at the sight of me.  
"Do it." I demand. "Whatever the _fuck_ you're here for, just do it. Because I _refuse_ to live in whatever game you're playing. I'm not going to play by your rules, I'm just not." I'm shaking with fury at Riddler, compassion for the boy locked in the asylum, fear for what Riddler is going to do to me, and a hundred other emotions I can't name.  
"Belle, come in and sit down." He says, something that sounds like exasperation in his voice.  
"You want privacy? Fine." I march into the house and stand in the middle of the kitchen.  
"Sit." He commands, and I do. If I'm going to die, I'll damn well be comfortable. He busies himself in the kitchen before returning with a mug of something, which he hands to me.  
"What is it?" I accuse. "Arsenic? Cyanide?"  
"Chamomile tea." He retorts, with a ghost of a smile. "It'll calm you down."  
"Oh." I sniff it, before taking a tiny sip. Doesn't _taste _like poison. "I thought tea was Jervis Tetch's thing."  
"You're welcome." He says sardonically. We sit in silence, me drinking my tea, him watching me.  
"Do you mind? That's creepy." I frown.  
"Not really." He replies, continuing to watch me.  
"Yeah, well, I mind. You're making me all self-conscious." He gives me an almost-smile and obligingly looks away. I finish my tea and put the cup on the table.  
"Feel better?"  
"Yeah." I admit. He smiles, gets up and opens the door for me. I walk carefully over and outside. "Okay, what's with the civil tea party?" I ask. This whole encounter has totally thrown me.  
"Maybe I'm not the villain you think I am, Belle." He says. "Or maybe I just want to break you myself. It's no fun to play with a toy that's already broken."  
"Ah. There's the Riddler I know and hate." I smile. He shuts the door in my face and I walk home.

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**A/N: **I opened up Word, planning to write the _outline _of a chapter, but I accidently wrote the chapter. Oops.  
I do apologize for the F-bomb! But come on, emotions running high, even higher stakes... Who wouldn't curse a little?  
Hope you enjoyed this one, and thanks for reading! :)


	4. Chapter 4

I get home seconds before my Mom. We do the usual 'How was your day' thing while we cook dinner. We eat in silence before I fake a headache and go to bed early. I don't really want to hang out with Mom and pretend everything is normal, like I didn't have tea with Riddler this afternoon. Of course I can't sleep for hours, but eventually I do.

Mom is already gone when I wake up. I love sleep ins on Sundays. I decide to actually tackle my homework for a few hours. No point in falling behind at school just because a madman lives on my street, right? I cruise through English and Algebra, stumble blindly through Trigonometry and Science, and blatantly lie my way through a History essay.  
I spend the afternoon thinking about my Riddler problem and pretending to watch TV until Mom comes home.  
"Belle? You home?" She calls.  
"Yeah, I'm here." I reply, walking into the kitchen to greet her. "How was work?"  
"Busy." She sighs. "I bought a paper home. Just look at those crime rates. It's terrible." I grab the paper off the table and flick through the headlines. Murder, murder, missing person, murder. This city is going to hell.  
"Wow. I didn't realise it was getting so bad." I say. "Can I read this?"  
"Take it. I'll make dinner." Mom waves me away. I run up to my room with the paper and flop on my bed, taking a closer look at the articles.  
On the front page there's a story about four people who died during a bank robbery down on main street, _in broad daylight_. I read on, interested.  
"Yesterday the First National Bank on Main Street was robbed, blah blah blah," I read aloud, skimming the article.  
"All video surveillance files corrupted, irretrievable… Victims are the bank manager, two security guards and a customer. All found dead in the vault, with… Wait, _what_?" I reread the sentence.  
"All found dead in the vault… with smiles frozen on their faces." Well that is _creepy_. I flip to the next article that caught my eye.  
"A couple was found dead last night in Hyde Park… Man who found them didn't realise they were dead at first because they appeared to be reading books… It's assumed that the killer posed them and left them there to be found." Okay, that's even creepier. And a little familiar… I flip the page to the next article. A big picture of a young woman takes up half the page.  
"Missing person. Miss Sandra Owens left for work early Friday morning, but never arrived and hasn't been seen since. Neighbours reported seeing a man hanging around the building of late, who is described as having long hair, wearing a top hat and a coat. If anyone has information about this man or Miss Owens, please contact police." I look at the picture again. She's pretty. Fair skin, pretty blue eyes and long, thick blonde hair.

I lie on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. Is it just me, or do the headlines have a sort of… Gotham feel to them? People dying with a smile frozen on their faces, as if they were affected by Joker gas? And the dead couple in the park, who were posed as if they were reading, that sounds like something Zsasz would do. And at second glance, that missing woman, she kind of resembles Alice from Alice in Wonderland, making her Jervis Tetch's type.  
But this is ridiculous. Having Riddler in my world was bad enough, I don't even want to think what would happen if the rest of Gotham got here.  
I grab my computer and open up the internet, and search for the local newspaper's site. I quickly skim over the last few days of news headlines. Now that I know what I'm looking for, some of the news articles look kind of suspicious. Like totally outrages robberies, happening in the middle of the day. Or the weird animal attacks out near the sewer opening, where the crazy homeless man said he saw a giant alligator.  
I need to talk to Riddler about this, _now_. I have to know if this is even possible. I get up and peek downstairs, and can see Mom still walking around. I'll have to wait until she's asleep and sneak out. Ironic. All the girls in my class were sneaking out when they were fifteen to see boys they liked. I'm sneaking out to see a guy for the first time, and he's a homicidal super villain.  
My mother would be _thrilled_.  
I play solitaire, pace around my room, paint my nails green, decide I hate that colour now and paint them blue instead, until finally, I hear Mom pad up the stairs and into her bedroom. I wait another twenty minutes for her to fall asleep, before quietly getting dressed. Another fifteen minutes waiting, just to be safe. I quietly slide my window open and peer outside. It's not too high, so if I climb out the window and hang down the side of the house then drop, I should be fine. So that's what I do. I climb sideways out the window, wishing I'd stayed in gymnastics in second grade, because being somewhat flexible would make this _much_ easier. I make it around, and hang off my window ledge for a moment before dropping to the ground with a quiet _thud_. I did it! I have successfully snuck out of the house.  
I jog down the street to Riddler's house. Just before I get there, I notice someone on the other side of the street. Kind of late to be taking a walk, but who am I to talk? I glance at them from the corner of my eye. It's a woman, and she seems to have a real Red and Black theme going on. Red and black pants, red and black shirt… hang on. I turn and gawk openly. Call me crazy, but I swear that's Harley Quinn.

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**A/N: **Sorry this one took so long! Between work and being sick, it's been pretty hectic. Next chapter is already half written, promise!  
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!


	5. Chapter 5

Obviously all rational thought and common sense leaves me, because I follow her. I only want to see what house she goes into. Except she doesn't go into a house. We walk right to the end of the street, and down the next street and the next, and I'm too far now to back out, so I go down the next and the next, still following her. Pretty soon I find myself in a not-so-good part of town. Woman walk up and down the street, calling out to men in cars. Cars parked on the sides of the road are being used as mobile motels.  
The Harley look alike suddenly turns and walks into a building that I have zero interest in going into. It's graffiti covered, probably condemned, and almost certainly full of people I don't want to meet. I look around. There's really nowhere for me to hide. If I stand here much longer I'm going to attract very unwanted attention. I'm really starting to panic when a car rolls to a stop beside me. Oh holy crap. I'm about to run when the person in the car speaks.  
"Get in." No way. I know that voice. I lean down to look in the window.  
"You have a _car_? You have a _drivers licence_? How is this even possible? _I_ don't even have a drivers licence! Wait, how did you find me?"  
"Get in." Riddler says again. "What are you doing down here anyway?" He asks. I open the car door and slip inside.  
"Following someone. What are _you _doing down here?"  
"Following someone." He quips mockingly.  
"The Harley Quinn look alike?" I ask, excited. If he noticed her too, maybe I wasn't crazy!  
"No, _you_." He says, looking at me like I'm an idiot.  
"Hey! You can't just follow people around like that!" He gives me a pointed look. "Point taken."  
"Why are you following a Harley Quinn look alike?"  
"It's a little weird, isn't it? You're here, so why not her? And don't tell me you haven't noticed the crimes lately. Huge bump in the statistics, and all very Gotham-y. The bank robbery, the dead couple in the park, and the missing woman who looks like Alice."  
"I have noticed." He sighs.  
"Exactly." I say. "So why- Holy crap, here she comes." She leaves the building and walks in our direction. "We're screwed. She's going to see us!" I panic.  
"If we sit here and gape at her she will. Not if we blend in…" Next thing I know, Riddler grabs me and yanks me over so I'm practically sitting on his lap. "Trust me." I'm not feeling very trusting. Even less so when suddenly, he's kissing me. I try to jump away but he has his hands on my shoulders and he's holding me where I am. Part of me is aware that he's only doing this so Harley won't see us, but most of me is screaming _holy crap_! A moment later and his grip on me slackens so I pull away, back over to my seat. We sit there, breathing heavily.  
"That was so _not _okay." I say.  
"I did what I had to do. I didn't exactly enjoy it either." He retorts. His breathing is returning to normal but his face is still flushed.  
I can't handle the awkwardness anymore, so I get out of the car, planning on walking home.  
"And what are you doing?" Riddler asks.  
"Walking home." I reply. "What does it look like I'm doing?"  
"Trying to get yourself into trouble. You're not so stupid as to walk around here at this time of night. Get back in the car." I was planning on saying no, but another car slides to a stop behind me.  
"How much?" The driver grunts at me. My eyes almost pop out of my head, and I throw myself back into Riddler's car.  
"On second thought, a ride home would be great." I squeak, and we take off down the street.

Neither of us speak. There's nothing to say, really. Actually, I can think of plenty to say, but it's all rude and insulting and I'm not entirely sure Riddler isn't still going to kill me. So I keep quiet.  
I get out of the car, and he drives two hundred metres down the street to his house. I still find it completely bizarre to live four houses down from the Riddler. I sneak back into the house, making a bit of noise, but thankfully Mom doesn't wake up. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering how the hell my life got into this mess. I toss and turn for what feels like hours before drifting off to sleep.

I wake up the next morning with the events of last night still on my mind. I try to force the whole thing out of my mind, but the more I try _not _to think about it, the more I _do_. By the time I finish breakfast, I admit to myself that I'm thinking about one event in particular. The kiss. And when I think about it, I get mad. That was my first kiss. Call me crazy, but first kisses in movies and books always happen somewhere romantic, between two people who are crazy about each other, and for some reason, it's usually raining. Is it so strange that that's how I wanted my first kiss to go? Not stolen from me in a parked car in the worst part of town.  
The more I think about it, the angrier I get. And the angrier I get, the more I want to storm down the street and smack him in the mouth. But just as I walk out the door, I chicken out and run back inside. I'm getting all my information from movies and books here, and they don't cover situations like mine.  
I flop helplessly onto the couch in the living room. The shrill ringing of the phone breaks the silence, and I stretch out and grab it off the end table beside the couch.  
"Hello, Mitchell residence."  
"Riddle me this." Oh crap.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm not even close to happy with this chapter, but it's been ages since I updated. Sorry for that, and for the crappy-ness that is this chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

"Tell me a riddle and I swear to God, I'll march down the street, into your house, and punch you in the nose."  
"I'd like to see you try." He says, and I can practically hear the smirk on his face. "But if you could curb your violent tendencies for a moment, there was a conversation we didn't finish last night."  
"And what would that be?"  
"Crimes worthy of Gotham happening here." Of course! Given everything _else _that happened last night, the Gotham styled crimes had been driven to the back of my mind.  
"Yeah? What about them?" I ask.  
"I have reason to believe that they aren't just crimes _worthy _of Gotham, they _are _crimes of Gotham."  
"You're not making any sense. What are you talking about?" I ask. I hear him sigh.  
"Come over and find out." He says, and hangs up. I sit there for a moment, listening to the dial tone while my smart side, who says to stay home, fights it out with my stupid side, who says to go.  
Thirty seconds later, and I'm out the door.

Before I even get the chance to knock, the door flies open and Riddler stands to the side to let me in.  
"I'm here." I announce. He mumbles something that sounds like 'obviously'. "What are you talking about?" Riddler doesn't say a word, he just walks over to his phone and presses the button to play messages.  
"You have no new messages. You have two saved messages. Message received today," The mechanical voice fills the room, followed by a very different voice.  
"Eddie! You naughty boy, you've been holding out on us! A whole new world, full of exciting people to kill and exciting places to break into, and you would have kept it to yourself!" _Beep_. My blood ran cold. I know exactly whose voice that was, but there was no way _he _was here. The Riddler was one thing but _Joker_? The second messages starts up.  
"One more thing Eddie. I _know _you followed that girl here. And I'll tell you what. You didn't tell me about this place, so I think killing your little girlfriend should be payback. Sound good?" The sound of his laughter fills the room before the machine cuts him off. We're both silent for a moment.  
"Do I get a say in this? Because that _doesn't _sound good." I say, mostly to break the silence.  
"Really? You've been nothing but trouble for me since I met you. Maybe the clown would be doing me a favour." Oh crap. I brace myself to run, but then his smile turned from menacing to something a little more genuine. Or maybe he's just tired. What do I know.  
"Don't worry… yet. I have something planned for you, and Joker is not getting in the way of it." His crazy smile is back, but the threat sounds more like it's a habit now, rather than anything to worry about.  
"So what you're saying is, you won't let Joker kill me because that would mess up your plans?"  
"That's what I'm saying."  
"Right, because _that's _not horribly familiar at all." I mutter, but he hears me. "What are you smirking about? I'm pretty sure I came out on top back in Arkham." He scoffs.  
"Really?"  
"Yeah really." I say indignantly. "I wasn't the one Batman was about to capture."  
"And _I _wasn't the one bleeding to death in an alley." He points out. My hand automatically goes to the scar on my chest. I see his eyes go to my hand and widen slightly when he sees the scar.  
"Yep. That's my one memento of my time in Arkham City. Well, other than you." I correct myself. "And now Joker, apparently." Riddler snaps back to attention.  
"Not just Joker." He grabs the news paper sitting on the table and flips it open, showing me story after story of murders, robberies and assaults.  
"I have a bad feeling this isn't a copy of The Gotham Times."  
"It's your local paper. And after that message from Joker, I don't they're crimes _like _Gotham's, I think they _are _Gotham's." I took a beat to process that.  
"You think it's not just Joker here. There are other Arkham villains here?"  
"I'm sure of it. I took a trip down to the hospital this morning to visit the local coroner. Apparently, there's been at least four deaths in the past week. His best guess is an LSD overdose."  
"But they didn't die from an overdose, did they?" I ask, already knowing the answer.  
"Doctor Crane's fear gas has a… unique scent. I could still smell it on the victims."  
"So if- Wait, are you high on fear gas right now?" I grin. He shoots me a withering glare.  
"Does it _look _like I'm 'high' on fear gas right now?"  
"Maybe not. But seriously, am I going to have to be worried about Joker attacking me on my way to school or the library?" I hope not, cause that is going to suck. Riddler shrugs.  
"If he doesn't know where you are already." He says. My eyes widen to the size of duck eggs. "He obviously knows where _I_ am. It's only a matter of time before he finds _you_."  
"Thanks for that uplifting speech." I say, and get up and walk to the door.  
"Where are you going?"  
"Home." I answer shortly.  
"Why?"  
"To write my will, considering my imminent death."  
"Don't be ridiculous. Sit down." I ignore him and throw open the door and stalk out. "Belle!" I hear him swear before coming out after me. I'm halfway up the street when a car screeches to a stop next to me.  
"Belle!" Riddler calls out again as the window of the car rolls down.  
"Hey girlie. Long time no see." _Crap_. I try to run but two pairs of strong arm are pulling me down into the back seat of the car. I kick and scream but the car door slams shut with me inside, and we roar off down the street.

* * *

**A/N: **New chapter! I'll see if I can squeeze in another two or three in the next week and a half, because I probably won't be updating during April, because I'll be doing Camp NaNoWriMo! So I'll post as much as I can before that starts. Hope you enjoyed!


	7. Chapter 7

I'm sitting between two Arkham thugs with serious hygiene issues, trying not to freak out. The thugs, Joker and me ride in silence until we pull up outside the closed down gym four blocks over from my school. It went broke a few months back, but all the equipment and stuff is still in there, and it's a popular place to break into if you're a teenager in love and you and your sweetheart want some time together, if you know what I mean.  
I've got a thug on each arm, and they march me inside and sit me down on a chair that's been dragged into the middle of the room.  
"Belle, Belle, _Belle_." Joker strolls up to me, casually as you please, holding a crazy long knife. "What _have _you gotten yourself into now?"  
"Oh you know, same old same old." I say, pleased that my voice doesn't betray how freaked out I am.  
"Of course. Nothing new, really. Except how this ends this time." He says, gesturing between me and him.  
"I'm not telling you anything." I say automatically. Call it reflex left over from my time being kidnapped by bad guys in Arkham. He laughs hysterically.  
"Oh I don't want you to _tell_ me anything. Right now, I don't care who's evil plan will work, who will die, or even who Batman is! I have a brand new world to terrorise, and it has no stupid heroes, dressed as bats or otherwise." He stops laughing and regains his calm. Or as calm as Joker gets, anyway. "No, this _is_ actually about showing dear old Eddie who's boss. We Rouges don't keep surprises like this to our selves, no, we share it with the group! And killing you is just his punishment for not sharing. Nothing personal, girlie."  
"Really? Cause killing someone seems kind of personal to me." I say, slowly standing up and darting around the chair, putting it between him and me. He recognises my pathetic attempt to distance myself from him for what it is, and laughs again.  
"No good trying to run or hide he-re." He singsongs. It hits me again just how freaking _creepy _he really is. My fight or flight reaction kicks in, and I turn on my heal and run to the other end of the gym. I panic as I realise there is literally nowhere for me to run. I've cornered myself at the end of the gym with no doors or windows, and Joker is advancing on me, his trademark grin in place. So I do what anyone would when 'flight' isn't an option.  
I fight.  
I grab a small dumbbell from the machine in front of me and hurl it towards Joker. He side steps it easily and laughs at me. I throw another, and another, and on the fourth weight, I get a direct hit. Right in his gut. He doubles over, still laughing. Thug 1 and Thug 2 come rushing to his rescue, but he waves them away.  
"Get back. Get- Back!" He wheezes. "It's just getting interesting!" He straightens up and cracks his neck. "Bring it on, girlie." He rushes at me, knife raised, and I brace myself for him, when he stops. I frown, trying to understand why I'm being stabbed to death when a booming, familiar voice filled the room.  
"Once again, Joker, it seems that you've taken someone who belongs to me." No _way_! I spin around, reluctant to turn my back on Joker, but I have to see. A seven foot tall projection of Riddler's face occupied the wall behind me. "And if she isn't returned to me, unharmed, in the next thirty seconds, I'll set off every device I've planted in that gym." There was silence for a beat, before I heard Joker mumble something that sounded like 'party pooper'. He makes a big show of standing back and sweeping his arm to let me pass. But as I walk by, he grabs me by the shoulder and swings me around into him, my back to his front, with an arm securely around my shoulders and the other holding the knife to my throat.  
"I'm calling your bluff. You haven't set up anything in this gym, except maybe that projector." Joker sneers. "And besides, you wouldn't set off anything that might hurt girlie here." Riddler just sighs and the screen goes dark. I brace myself again, this time waiting for an explosion, or maybe an electric shock… but nothing happens.  
The front door opens and Riddler strolls in, spraying something into Thug 1 and Thug 2's faces, dropping them to the floor instantly, and continues walking over to Joker and I. Considering the thugs are rolling around, screaming 'get them away from me' and 'get it off me' I have a pretty good idea what they were sprayed with. I turn my attention back to Riddler, who's standing right in front of me. The knife at my throat presses harder, and I whimper. Riddler's eyes flash to mine and I just look back at him. _Help_.  
"You know, Eddie, it's not polite to gas someone's henchmen." Joker says pleasantly.  
"You're right. And it would be even ruder to _kill _someone's henchmen, but I will if you don't return what's mine." Riddler says, equally as pleasant.  
"Oh go ahead. There's plenty more where they came from. Any one of these people would gladly sign up with me. I can't even walk down a street here without someone taking a picture with me! I'm a celebrity!" He laughs.  
"There's difference between thinking you're a cool character and actually agreeing to commit crimes for you." I spit at him.  
"Hear that Eddie? I'm a 'cool character!'" Joker laughs. He presses the knife tighter to my neck, and I feel it start to cut at the skin. I brace myself, knowing this is the end. Then everything happens all at once.  
"Belle, close your eyes and hold your breath." Riddler says.  
"What? Why?" I reply, when I'm supposed to be holding my breath. Riddler sprays fear toxin into Jokers face, and of course, I inhale half of it. Joker goes down gasping and wheezing, and so do I.  
"Damn it Belle, I _told _you to hold your breath." I hear Riddler say, and he leans down to help me up. But when I look up at him, it's not Riddler I see. It's Joker. I scream and crab scuttle away from him.  
"Belle, calm down, I won't hurt you."  
"Like hell you won't!" I scream at him, and keep moving away. But he catches up to me and scoops me up in his arms, holding me tight to his chest, so that no matter how much I struggle I can't break free.  
I'm screaming and sobbing and I know I'll die any minute, and Joker/Riddler is just holding me and the walls won't stay still and I'm so _afraid_.

* * *

**A/N: **I have another 5 chapters already written, so updates will be coming hard and fast until April! Hope you liked this one! (It gets happier soon, promise.)


	8. Chapter 8

I wake up in my room, in my bed.  
"Honey?" Mom's sitting at the foot of my bed, looking worried.  
"Mom?" I croak. "What happened?"  
"I came home from work and you were in bed, sweating and crying. You had a fever." She says. I don't remember any of this. "I've called the school, and you're staying here today. I wanted to stay home with you, but I got called into work. I'll be home as soon as I can honey." She kisses me on the head and strokes my hair before leaving for work.  
Mom stoking my hair triggers a memory… I think she was doing that to calm me down last night when I was sick. I get out of bed, and realise I'm still wearing my jeans and shirt from yesterday, plus a man's jacket that is definitely _not_ mine.  
That's when it all comes flooding back.  
Riddler, the gym, Joker, the fear toxin. I sink back onto my bed, frowning as I remember. It's like that one time I got _spectacularly_ drunk with my cousin at my aunt's wedding. I can kind of remember what happened, but it's all foggy.  
I remember Joker coming after me, but I think that may have actually been Riddler. The fear toxin must have been messing with my mind and made me see Joker instead.  
Which means it was Riddler holding me, making sure I didn't do any damage to him or myself. And Riddler who bought me home before Mom realised I was gone, and put me to bed. And maybe it was him I remember stroking my hair, trying to calm me down.  
"Ugh." I groan, and put my face in my hands. This is _confusing._ But I do know one thing. Jackass or not, I kind of owe Riddler a thank you. He totally could have gassed me and left me to walk it off on my own. But he didn't. So maybe he's not all bad. _Mostly_ bad, but not all.  
I drag myself up again and head straight to the shower. Riddler's right, the fear gas _does _smell. I dump my clothes straight into the hamper and set to work washing any remaining fear gas out of my hair and off my skin.  
Once I've accomplished that, I dry my hair and get changed into a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt that says 'Free Schrödinger's Cat' on the front. I lace up my Chuck Taylors and I'm ready to go. I grab the jacket, and go downstairs. A piece of paper on the dining table catches my eye. It's a cutting from today's newspaper, a report on all the Batman character's around town. It speculates about whether they're a joke or advertising a new movie. Mom's written a note on the side.

I know you love Batman, and thought you might like to read this! Xx

I shake my head and put the paper back on the table and continue on my way. I walk down the street and knock on Riddler's door, which he opens the door, looking wary. Which is fair enough, I guess. I could have come down here mad as hell. He did gas me, after all. But the way I'm choosing to look at it, he saved me from Joker. _Again_.  
"Your jacket?" I say by way of greeting. I hold it out to him and he takes it from me.  
"Thanks."  
"I think I should be saying that to you." I say, and he seems to relax a little, now he knows what frame of mind I'm in.  
"What for?" He asks.  
"Don't be an ass." I say, walking inside. "You know what for."  
"I really don't. What did I do that deserves your thanks?" He asks, smirking.  
"I swear Edward, don't make me sorry I decided to say thank you." I warn. He frowns. "What?" I ask, confused.  
"You called me Edward."  
"What? No I didn't." I say.  
"You did."  
"I didn't… Did I?" I ask. He nods. "That's… weird. I'm not sure where that came from."  
"No it's… fine." He says awkwardly. I can't help but grin a little.  
"Are we friends or something? Eddie, are we friends?"  
"Call me Eddie again and I'll cut out your tongue." He warns. "Friends or not." I laugh.  
"We _are _friends?" I don't know why, but the whole thought of being friends is making me giddy. Maybe it's because friends don't usually kill one another, so I'm thinking _maybe _I'm safe from Riddler's revenge.  
"I wouldn't say friends. But when you save someone's life so many times, you start to feel an attachment." He says sardonically. "I've never really had a friend before." He says, so quietly that I'm not sure it was to me or to himself.  
I reply anyway. "Me neither." We're both quiet for a moment.  
"Shouldn't you be in school?" He asks.  
"I'm home sick." I reply, grinning slightly. "I had this terrible fever."  
"Your mother put your symptoms down to a fever? I thought she was a healthcare professional." He scoffs.  
"Hey! She is. She just hasn't seen fictional fear toxin before." I defend her. Riddler frowns.  
"So even after all this, you still call me and all of Arkham, fictional?" Oh crap, I think I've offended him.  
"I don't know. I guess. I mean, you're a game in my Xbox. How can I call you real?" I say, my voice soft.  
"Show me." He says.  
"Show you what?"  
"The game. Show me the game." He doesn't say 'please', but he's asking me all the same. He's not giving an order. I can say no.  
"Sure."

¿?

Oh man. It's completely ridiculous that I should be so nervous right now. I'm in my bedroom, setting up my Xbox, as usual. Except that Riddler is sitting on the bed next to me. And while most of me is cool about it, there's still that tiny part of me that's still 15 years old, screaming 'there's a boy in your room!'  
I have to control my laughter too, because the sight of Riddler, sitting on my bed in his jeans and olive green shirt, looking totally comfortable yet so out of place is hilarious.  
I finish setting up and take a seat on the bed next to him.  
"You know I'm not showing you anything important, right?"  
"Yes, yes." Ridder says, impatiently.  
"And it's only for a few minutes." He just gives me a look. "Well, without further ado…" I turn it on and start it up. The oh-so familiar screen and music pops up. Thankfully, I have a saved file where I'm just about to save a Riddler hostage. I start that one.  
This should be fun.


	9. Chapter 9

It's hostage number two. You know, the one that looks like he gets shuffled around under a giant box, but he really goes down and to the side. So I go in, and the Riddler next to me is looking pretty pleased with himself as the Riddler on the screen tells Batman how he'll never win. So the boxes start shuffling around, and watching Riddler out of the corner of my eye, I tap the button to activate Detective Mode. I burst out laughing as he leaps off the bed, shouting that he knew Batman cheated somehow. He calms down when I offer him a go. So Riddler wanders around Arkham City, solving his own riddles and trophies in seconds flat, even the ones it took me ages to work out. He points out places that are familiar to him, and we ignore the main plot entirely.  
The door bell rings, and I get up to answer it, but Riddler grabs my hand and pulls me back.  
"Uh, what's the problem? I'm answering the door." I pull my hand free of his, so he grabs my wrist instead.  
"Let me."  
"Ha ha no. What if it's the old lady next door who's friends with Mom? How would I explain you?"  
"Would you rather have to explain me or open the door to Joker?" I don't reply. "Well?"  
"I'm thinking." He shoots me a look. "You really think it's Joker?" Now he doesn't reply. So I yank my wrist free and walk over to my window.  
"What are you doing?" He hisses.  
"If I lean far enough I can see the front door." I lean out the window, as far as I can without falling. "It's no good. I can't see." A bright idea hits me. "Come here."  
"Why?"  
"Just come here!" I hiss. He walks over and I grab his hand. "Hold on to me so I don't fall. And I swear to God, if you let go and I fall to my death, I _will _haunt your ass." I lean out, and with Riddler's help I can see the front door. I shake my head and he pulls me back in.  
"Old lady next door?"  
"Better. Girl Scouts selling cookies." He smiles at that. "Serious question." I say. "How _do_ I get rid of the Arkham villains in my town?"  
"I think you already know." He answers.  
"Yeah. I- Wait. How do _you _know I know?" He blushes. No kidding, there is actual redness on his face.  
"I may have browsed through your internet history." He says.  
"Rude." I reply, but I'm joking. "Did you read it? That kid's blog, I mean." He nods. "Then yeah. I guess I know what I have to do." There's nothing else to say, so we walk downstairs to the door. Just as he's leaving, Riddler turns to me.  
"How would you like a partner in crime?" He smiles, and it's only slightly unhinged.  
"Oh I see. This is _you _trying to be useful to me so _I _don't kill you. Well. Haven't the tables turned." I give him a full blown grin.  
"I could always let you find and kill Joker on your own…" He turns and walks out the door, so I grab him by the arm.  
"No, okay. You win. Oh powerful, smart Edward, will you help me get rid of everyone from Arkham?" I say, only kind of mocking him, because I really do want his help.  
"Fine." He sighs dramatically. "You'd just get yourself killed again without me." And with that confidence booster, he leaves.

Mom comes home by 6 o'clock and I'm lying on the couch, watching crappy sitcom reruns.  
"Belle! You should still be in bed, what are you doing?" She rushes over and checks my temperature.  
"I'm fine Mom. I feel great. It was probably a 24 hour thing." I say, brushing her away.  
"Are you sure? You can take another day off school if you need." She offers.  
"No, I'll go. I have homework to hand in and fail." She smiles and shakes her head, because I always say I've failed, but usually average about a B.  
We make dinner and she talks about work and her school, and we watch some more crappy TV before both heading upstairs to bed. I go into my room and close the door behind me. Arkham City is still up on my TV screen, so I turn it off and take the controller from my bed and put it away.  
Just as I'm getting into bed, my phone, still in my jeans pocket, buzzes. I groan and get out of bed, dig the phone out of my jeans and flip it open. One new text message.

I know where Tetch is.

I stand there, staring at my phone. It's an unrecognised number, but there's only one person it could be from. Oh boy.

Edward?

Obviously.

You have a phone? You can text? What's happening here?!

Belle, I have a genius level IQ. Of course I can text.

Fair point.

Did you hear what I said? I know where Tetch is.

Good for you. What do you want me to do about it?

Kill him.

Edward, I'm tired. I have school tomorrow. I'll kill him later.

He moves around. It's only by chance I found him now. He'll be gone later.

I groan quietly. I need to sleep, but I do need to get rid of all the Arkham villains running around, and the sooner the better. I quietly get dressed again.

Fine. I'll meet you at your house in 15.

I'm outside yours now.

I groan again, but this time out of frustration. I open my window, quietly as possible, and awkwardly climb out like last time. I drop to the ground very ungracefully, dust myself off and walk around the front to meet Riddler.  
"This had better be good." I say as I reach him.  
"I'm sure it will be." His car is idling at the curb, ready to go, so we get in.  
"Where is he?" I ask.  
"He's been hiding out in the local library."  
"Oh." We drive in silence until we turn onto the street the library's on. "I'm kind of counting on your knowledge of general villainy here. What's the plan of attack?" He just smiles that slightly unhinged smile.  
"We'll play it by ear." We pull up outside the huge building that is our library. Riddler makes short work of the lock on the front door and we're in. He closes the door behind us gently, and puts his finger to his lips, telling me I should be quiet. I roll my eyes and mouth 'well duh' back at him. He gives me a non-crazy smile, which is kind of a knock out. When he's not being an evil genius, he has a killer smile. But it's gone in an instant, replaced by a slight frown as he listens for any sound out of place. I stop focusing on him and listen for anything too. We go up and down the aisles of books, and right at the back, in the children's fiction, is Jervis Tetch.


	10. Chapter 10

Riddler and I are standing at the end of the aisle, peering around the corner at Tetch. I feel Riddler move next to me and he pulls a freaking _gun _out from the waist band of his pants and holds it out to me. My eyes almost pop out of my head and my jaw drops. I shake my head violently. He tries to give it to me again, but I can't take it.  
"No!" I whisper, quietly as possible, but it's loud enough to attract Tetch's attention. His head bolts up, looking around the room.  
"Who's there?" He calls out in that strange, lilting voice. "Come out, come out."  
"Well done." Riddler hisses at me, before walking out in front of Tetch. "Jervis. Fancy seeing you here."  
"It's the Riddler. You're just in time for tea, you are. Won't you join Alice and I?" Tetch gestures to a woman I hadn't noticed before, bound and gagged, sitting in a chair with a tea cup on her lap. She's watching Tetch and Riddler, terror on her tearstained face. I have to help her. I sneak down the aisle and come around behind Tetch. Riddler sees me, but doesn't give anything away, and I tiptoe over to Alice's chair. I hold my finger to my lips, and she nods quickly, so I set to work untying her hands and feet. I help her stand and walk her quietly into the next aisle of books.  
"The front doors open, _go._" I breathe.  
"Thank you." She says fervently before dashing through the books to the door. I hear raised voices from Tetch and Riddler, and turn around in time to see Tetch watch his Alice disappear out the door.  
"You!" He cries, rounding on me. "You took her away! You took my Alice away!"  
"No, I let a poor frightened woman you _kidnapped_ go." I retort. He howls and charges me, wrapping his arms around my waist and tackling me to the ground.  
Which isn't actually as dramatic as it sounds. Tetch is only five feet tall, and as scrawny as a twelve year old. So it's not much to roll him off me and stand back up. He follows suit and stands there, panting and glaring at me.  
"Crap. I can't hurt this guy." I say. And it's true. I don't think I could kill _anyone_, let alone the scrawny dude in the top hat standing in front of me.  
"I thought not." Riddler says. "Close your eyes." I do. I squeeze them shut as tightly as possible and block my ears too. But I can still hear it. The quiet _click_ of the silencer on the gun and the _thud _of the body dropping. I stand like that, eyes and ears covered, until I feel Riddler put his arms around me. I could make a joke about how he's going soft, but right now, I just want to be held, even by him. So I bury my head against his chest until I feel better.

After a few moments, Riddler says we need to leave. So I breathe deep, count to ten, and tell myself repeatedly that Jervis Tetch was a fictional character, and a bad one at that, so it doesn't really count as murder.  
All the same, I'm probably going to hell.  
It's one o'clock by the time I unlock the front door with the key hidden under the mat and creep back upstairs into my room. I get changed out of my jeans and collapse onto my bed, falling asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.

¿?

My alarm starts blaring at 7 o'clock the next morning. I desperately want to roll over and go back to sleep for a few more hours, but I drag myself up and lumber downstairs in search of breakfast. Mom's already gone, of course, so I fumble around the kitchen by myself before going back upstairs to shower and get ready for school. My puppy, Jake, needs to go for a walk, but if I want to get to school on time he's going to have to miss out. I let him outside into our tiny backyard, grab my backpack and head out the door.  
I take the short way, through the park, and get to school on time, which is pretty novel for me. Homeroom, English and Math glide by quickly, and I'm sitting in Science, which is hands down my worst subject. The teacher asks question after question, and I'm just sitting there, praying he doesn't ask me. But of course he does. And as soon as I say 'I don't know' I'm his target for the rest of the lesson.  
Four questions I don't know the answers to later, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I subtly take it out and read the message under the desk.

Are you this bad in all your classes?

Riddler. Smug jackass must be watching my classes on that ridiculous computer in his house.

Are you watching me? That's… disturbing.

No, what's disturbing is how bad you are at science.

I roll my eyes and focus on the teacher again. He's drawing up some complex formula on the board, and we have three minutes to solve it.  
"Your time begins… now!" He says, and the timer on his desk starts to count down. Two minutes and forty five seconds. Two minutes thirty seconds. Two minutes.  
My phone vibrates in my pocket again. I take it out and read the message. Then I read it again. And again. It makes no sense, so I text him back.

What the hell are you on about?

Oh for god's sake. The answer is I=V/R.

"Time's up! Pencils down." I have nothing to lose, so I quickly scrawl down Riddler's answer.  
"Okay. What did everyone get? Miss Mitchell?" Crap. I stand up and recite my answer.  
The teacher is silent for a moment.  
"Well done. I knew that with enough practise you'd understand it." He moves on and I sit back down and text Riddler.

Thanks. Owe you one.

One? You owe me many. I'll just add this one to the list.

I cram my phone back into my pocket. I breeze through the rest of the day and walk home through the park after school. I dump my bag in my room, get changed and head back out, down to see Riddler.

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**A/N: **Over _40_ reviews! You guys are amazing :,) Thank you! Hope you enjoyed!


	11. Chapter 11

"Owe you many? How do you figure?" I ask when he opens the door to let me in.

"I've saved you _how _many times from the clown? Helped you get home, I'm helping you rid your city of Arkham prisoners…" He ticks them each off on his hand. "Shall I go on?"

"Don't bother, I get the idea." I say. "But speaking of ridding my city of Arkham prisoners… Who's next?" Riddler shakes his head and mutters something about my attention span, then leads me into the room with the crazy computer. A few mouse clicks later and he pulls up a map of the city.

"As far as I can tell, _this_," He circles a street in a bad part of town with his mouse. "Is where Croc calls home. At the end of the street is a main sewer entrance. And _here_," He indicates a different part of the map. "Is the park Zsasz most commonly finds his victims."

"Okay… Any thoughts on how to, you know, get rid of them?"

"Obviously I'm the brains of this outfit. And if you mean _kill _them, then yes." He says, looking pleased with himself.

"You know I'm super grateful for all this, don't you?" I say. "I mean, we might have been on opposite sides back in Arkham, but it's different now, right?" Man, this is awkward. If only Hallmark made a 'Even though you're a super-criminal who was my biggest enemy for a while, you're _actually_ an okay guy and I don't hate you anymore, I actually kind of _like_ you' card.

"I'm only doing this for the chance to kill the imbeciles I've been stuck in prisons and asylums with for years." Riddler claims, but I can see a ghost of a smile.

"Come on. You like me too." I say, punching him lightly on the arm. "Just say it."  
But he doesn't, he just stares back at me, so I stare back at him. But then it feels too intense, so I look away. After a beat, he does too.

"Hey, have you been watching the news?" I ask, suddenly remembering the article from yesterday morning. He shrugs. "Well, you guys made it in there!"

"Really?" He quirks an eyebrow.

"Yep. All the Batman characters have attracted some attention. Turn on the TV, you might make it on there." He walks past me into the living room and turns on the insanely large plasma. We both drop onto the couch and watch, just in time to catch the end of the sports report.

"That was sports with Mark Renner. Thanks Mark. Just to recap the main story for the night: Crime rates in our fair city are soaring. In the last week alone, there has been a dramatic rise in theft and violent crime. People are being urged to take caution, and to call the police immediately if they see anything suspicious."

Riddler turns off the TV as the report ends, but doesn't say anything.

"This is my fault." I say, more to myself than him. He answers though.

"It's not."

"Okay, maybe not, but it's my responsibility. I'm the only one who knows what's happening. I don't know what I was doing, thinking I could keep going to school and having my normal life, just killing Batman villains in the afternoons after school and on weekends!" I look up at him. "Would you be ready to go after Croc and Zsasz tomorrow?" He nods. "Good. We'll do Croc tomorrow, then find Zsasz tomorrow night in the park."

"Belle, you're not Batman." He says in a gentle tone that sounds kind of strange coming from him. "Nothing is your fault, and it's not your responsibility to save everyone." I calm down a little, enough to see that he's right. I smile and we both stand up.

"Would it be weird if I hugged you? I'm thinking this would be a time normal friends would hug."

"Yes, but would you call either of us _normal_?"

"Fair point. Well… See you." I say, and awkwardly wave at him. Not gonna lie, I totally would have preferred a hug.

I have a cloth over the speaker on the phone, and I'm trying to sound as grown up as possible.  
"No, I'm afraid she's quite sick again. I think it may be something left over from Monday." I say, trying to sound like Mom. I'm on the phone to the school, explaining to them why I won't be there today.

"That's fine Ms Mitchell." The lady from the school office says. "I hope she feels better soon."

"I, uh, _she_ will, I'm sure. Thank you." I hang up and let out a nervous laugh. In less than a week, I've gone from perfect daughter, to one who sneaks out, ditches school and cheats in science. And that's not even counting what I'm doing with Riddler. I run back upstairs to my room, and throw a few clothes and some stuff I'll need tonight in a bag.  
See, the plan is this: I'm spending the night at Riddler's. Every time I think about it, I start screaming internally. Which is ridiculous. We'll be spending the night hunting down Zsasz in the park. I finish packing, zip up my bag and carry it downstairs.

Two minutes later, I'm standing outside Riddler's door, so I knock. And knock again a few seconds later. And when he still doesn't answer, I start pounding on the door, yelling at him. What if he was tied up, or knocked out, or dead? What if-  
The door swings open and he's standing there, looking annoyed.

"Are you really so impatient that waiting two minutes would have killed you?" I threw up my hands.

"No I'm not so impatient. Damn it Edward, I thought maybe you were dead or something! I thought Joker had come and you were… Did you just get out of the shower?" Sure enough, he's standing there with wet hair, and is shirtless. Who knew there were muscles going on under that wiry frame? And I should totally not be looking. I avert my eyes, looking everywhere but at him.

"I did. Is that a problem?"

"No problem. I'll just… whatever. Go put a shirt on." I say, and settle myself on his couch. He laughs, that sort of crazy laugh, but goes into a room I guess is his bedroom and emerges fully clothed, wearing the Yankees shirt again. I just don't know if I'm happy or disappointed.

Riddler heads straight for his fridge and pulls out an enormous hunk of meat.

"Is that a _cow _leg?" I ask, walking into the kitchen to join him.

"Yes. And this is a toxin I received from Crane as payment for a favour I did for him." He says, pulling a small vial out from a drawer. There's maybe an inch of light green liquid in it.

"And _that's _going to be enough to kill Killer Croc?" I ask doubtfully. He sends me one of those totally unhinged smiles.

"Oh it's enough to kill three Crocs. I'm just making sure he's dead." He says, putting the toxin into a syringe and stabbing it into the meat.

"So what's the plan?" I ask, and I get another crazy person smile as an answer. Oh boy, this should be good.

* * *

**A/N: **Trying out some new spacing, by suggestion of one reviewer. :) Any better? Hope you're all still enjoying this!


	12. Chapter 12

"The plan is, we're going to visit Croc, give him this as a peace offering, and knowing the animal he is, he'll eat it immediately, then us."

"Yeah, I'm not understanding why you look so pleased about that." I say, making him laugh. Is it weird that I say some things just so he laughs? Yeah, that's weird, but he _does_ have a great laugh.

"Luckily, it's a very fast acting toxin. He'll be dead before he has a chance to eat us."  
"So you say." I huff.

"Trust me." He smirks.

"I do." I reply. "Never thought I'd have to say that I trust a Gotham Rogue with my life, but there you go." We both sit there, thinking about how strange life is for a moment.

"Well," Riddler brings me out of my thoughts. "No time like the present." He crams the huge hunk of meat into a cooler and I help him carry it out to his car.

The whole drive there I'm nervous as hell, wringing my hands and fidgeting with my ring until Riddler reaches out and grabs my hands in one of his to hold them still.

"Stop." He takes his hand away again, back onto the steering wheel. I poke my tongue out at him, like the mature person I am, but hold my hands still.

Riddler parks on the curb and we get out, heaving the cooler out with us, drag it over to the man hole in the middle of the street, and knock.

"Are you serious?" I ask. "You knock on the plate covering the hole and you think he's just going to ask 'who is it?'"

"Not quite." Riddler says, just as there's a rumbling and splashing from under our feet.

"Oh crap." I whisper, and the man hole cover lifts and shifts to the side. And up comes Croc.  
Not going to lie, Killer Croc always kind of scared me in the games. In person though, he is absolutely _terrifying_. A monster, an actual _monster_, living and breathing and staring down at you like you're something to eat.

"Croc. Good to see you. I have a plan and I could use your help. Interested?" Riddler asks.

"Not really. I'm hungry. But it looks like you bought breakfast." He growls, leering down at me. I'm two seconds from turning tail and running away, when Riddler steps in front of me.

"I did, but it's not her." He pushes the cooler at Croc. "Dig in, with my compliments." Croc sniffs the air and reaches down, grabbing the huge leg with one hand, and throwing the whole thing in his mouth. Three bites and it's gone.

"Good, but I'm still hungry."He snarls, lumbering at Riddler and I. Riddler quickly darts out of the way and I scurry over to the car, looking for somewhere to hide.  
Obviously sensing that I'm the slower of the two, he lunges to the right, after me, but his movement is already becoming sluggish as the toxin takes effect. I jump out of the way, and Croc's enormous hand comes down on the trunk of Riddler's car, partially crushing it. He lets out a roar and comes after me again. This time though, I'm ready. I'm standing in front of the man hole, and hold my ground until the last second.

For a moment, I think I've waited a second too long to move. I hear Riddler shout my name as I throw myself out of Croc's way. But just as planned, he falls, going down the man hole and hitting the ground with a splash. Riddler and I hurry to cover the man hole back up, even though there's not much chance of Croc coming back up. The toxin will kill him within minutes.

"We did it!" I shout, jumping up and down in excitement.

"We did." Agrees Riddler, laughing at me, but whatever. We killed Killer Croc!

"I know you're not a hugger, but I don't care. This is a special occasion." I say, pulling him into a hug, and to my surprise he keeps laughing and hugs back. I've never seen him like this, and I doubt anyone else has either. Actually laughing, and no hint of crazy on his face at all. Just laughing and smiling because he's _happy_. And I'm even more surprised when he pulls back from the hug, tilts my face up to his, and kisses me.  
You know how they say time stands still and it feels like it's only you and them in the entire world? Well, it's true. That's exactly how it feels. It's _amazing_.  
Until he breaks away completely, stepping back.  
"I apologize. That was- I know you don't-"  
"For someone so smart, you're an idiot." I say, and I grab his stupid Yankees shirt and pull him back, grinning. He returns my smile with one of his own and kisses me again.

¿?

I'm sitting in Riddler's bathroom, wrapping a bandage around my knee. I scraped it pretty bad when I dived onto the ground, away from Croc. I finished and put away the first aid kit, back into the cupboard, and walk, or limp, out and drop myself on the couch.

"You know, I'm exhausted. Maybe we could just kill Zsasz tomorrow night." I say, leaning my head back and shutting my eyes.

"Really?" I hear Riddler ask from somewhere behind me, and I sigh, sitting up and opening my eyes.

"No. The sooner _he's _gone, the better." The alarm on my watch beeps. "Okay. I'll go home for a few hours, tell Mom I'm staying with a friend, and I'll be back."

"Yes, yes. I know the plan. _I _came up with it." He says, waving me away.

"Fine. I'll see you in a few hours." I say, giving him a little wave. He just looks at me. And keeps looking. "Dude, you're being creepy." After a moment he smiles that unhinged smile and looks away. I leave, shaking my head.

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**A/N: **And that's it! For this month, at least. I will see you guys again after April! Hope you liked this one!


	13. Chapter 13

"Hey honey, how was school?" Mom asks when I walk inside.

"Yeah, fine." I brush off the question. "Hey, Mom... Is it okay if I stay at a friend's place tonight?" I prepare myself for the flood of questions.

"A friend's place? Who? Where did you meet them? Are they from school? Is it a _boy_?" She asks, shooting questions at me rapid fire.

"Yes a friend's place, her name is, um, Alice, I met her at school, and no, she's not a boy." I reply, ticking off my answers on my fingers. Mom beams at me.

"Oh, great! I've always hoped you'd start making friends, not that there was anything wrong with you before, but everyone needs a friend-"

"Okay Mom. Stop. So is it okay?"

"Of course! Are Alice's parents happy to let you stay?" She asks.

"Yeah, they're fine." I say. I run upstairs and grab a few last minute things, stuffing them into my bag. "I'm going to go now, okay? I'll see you tomorrow." I give Mom a hug.

"Did you need a lift?" She offers. I shake my head.

"No, she doesn't live far. I can walk."

"Have fun!" Mom says, and I smile back at her before leaving. I walk up the street, away from Riddler's house, just in case Mom is still watching me. I take a left and go around the block and through the park, jump the back fence and knock on Riddler's back door.

"Is there a problem with my front door?" Riddler asks when he opens up to let me in.

"No, just being cautious. Wouldn't want my mother to see me and think I'm shacking up with some psycho."

"What _would _the neighbours think?" Riddler says mockingly, standing aside to let me pass.

"So. What's the plan for tonight?" I ask, dropping my bag on the floor beside the couch. "Because I have an idea."

"Oh?" Riddler raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah. I figured your plan would have something to do with skulking around in the bushes, waiting until we see Zsasz or hear someone scream."

"And you would have a problem with that?" He says, and I can hear the smirk in his voice.

"Yes, because that's boring and we might not even catch him." I say. "Why don't _I _hang out on a park bench and see if Zsasz comes out?" Riddler snorts.

"Oh yes, brilliant plan Belle. You can sit out and while he's slitting your throat I'll sneak up behind him and slit his." He says, his voice oozing venom.

"Well, my plan was that you get to him slightly _before _he gets to my throat, but that's the general idea, yeah." I say, ignoring his tone.

"Absolutely not. Zsasz is too unpredictable, anything could go wrong." He says.

"Well, we'll just have to make sure it doesn't. Go wrong, I mean." I stare him down. "Come on, it's better than what you had planned, admit it."

"I will admit no such thing." He says. "But if you want to risk your own life, fine. Don't let me stop you."

"Thank you. So, I was thinking. Do you have those headphone things we used back in Arkham City in Wonder Tower?"

¿?

"I'm cold and this park bench is uncomfortable." I grumble quietly. I'm sitting on a bench under a lamp in the park, with no Riddler in sight, but I know he can hear me.

"This was your brilliant idea, remember?" I hear Riddler smirk through the bud in my ear.

"Yes, but in my brilliant idea Zsasz showed up in like, ten minutes. I've been sitting here for _two and a half hours_."

"And you may be sitting there for two and a half more, so get used to it."

I sigh and turn the page of the book I bought. Every few minutes I've been turning a page, but I haven't read a single sentence. I'm too nervous. I may talk big game to Riddler, whining about the cold, but I'm scared stiff of Zsasz. Have you heard his patient interview tapes? The man's insane!

A footstep behind me freezes me with fear. It takes every ounce of will power I have not to look behind me.

The snapping of a twig, closer. The book starts to shake in my hands. My heartbeat pounds in my ears, making it hard to hear anything else.

Two strong hands clamp down on my shoulders, my throat closes over and I can't scream, and I'm hyperventilating until I feel hot breath on my neck and lips at my ear as Riddler whispers "Boo."

"Damn it! What the hell? I thought you were Zsasz coming to kill me, you jerk!"

"I know. I was curious to see what you'd do." He says unapologetically.

"You're insane."

"No I'm not. My mental state is perfectly sound." He fixes me with a hard stare. Right. I forgot he gets kind of touchy about that.

"Whatever. Why did you come out? Now Zsasz will never show up!"

"He was never going to show up anyway. I've been listening to the police scanner; they've just found a body over at Hunter Memorial Park. I thought we'd go over and see if Zsasz is still slinking around."

"And we'll what, shoot him on sight in front of the police force?" I laugh. He _is _crazy.

"I doubt you'll be doing much shooting. And if you hadn't noticed, I have a great deal of experience escaping law enforcement."

"Really? Because I seem to remember your ass always landing back in Arkham Asylum." I retort, raising one eyebrow.

"That would be Batman's doing. As far as I know, there are no costumed vigilantes running around here, so I'll be fine. Now come on, or we'll miss our chance."

* * *

**A/N: **I'm back! Not the best comeback chapter, but it gets better, promise. Hope you're all still with me!


	14. Chapter 14

"Tell me again why we're going to look for Zsasz in a park crawling with cops at two in the morning?" I groan, sitting in the car with Riddler eyeing off the two dozen cops in Hunter Memorial Park.

"Because it wouldn't be nearly as fun without the police." He grins back at me.

"Fun. Right." I sigh, and we climb out of the car and dart into the shadows under the trees. We stand in the darkness, watching the police mill around a woman on a bench who appears to be tying her shoe. "That's the latest victim? The woman on the bench?" I ask quietly.

"Yes. Now be quiet." He whispers back.

"Edward, Zsasz will be long gone by now! Why would he be still hanging around?" I hiss.

"Just trust me."

"Last time you asked me to trust you I was nearly eaten by a giant crocodile-man." I retort. He glares at me. The sound of a fight behind us grabs our attention, and the police's.

"_Move_!" Riddler shoves me non-too-gently and we haul ass, running back to the car just in time to see the police run right to the patch of shadows we were hiding in.

"That was close." I mutter, but Riddler doesn't seem to be listening.

The police come back into view, and by the light of the street lamps, we can see two of them hold up a semi-conscious Zsasz. "What the hell?" I say, and movement at the end of the street catches my attention. A dark figure dashes across the road, into the darkness behind the buildings. I turn to Riddler and see that he noticed the figure too.

"Am I going crazy, or did it look like that guy was wearing a cape?"

"We have to kill Zsasz now, there's no other chance. Get in the back seat and lie down on the ground, make sure no one can see you." Riddler orders, ignoring my question. I do as he says and he gets into the driver's seat.

"What's going on? What are you going to do?" I ask, but again I get no answer.

"Hold on tight." Is all he says, and the car comes to life. We idle for a few moments, and I'm tempted to peek out the window.

"Don't even think about it." Riddler says.

"What, you can read my mind now?" I grumble but stay hidden. Suddenly the car takes off with a jolt, speeding forward for a few seconds before it skids to a stop. Two gunshots ring out and the car speeds off again. I'm curled up in a ball on the ground, being thrown from one side of the car to the other as Riddler took corners at a hundred miles an hour. I could hear sirens chasing us, but they're fainter now. After a couple more minutes of crazy driving we slow down. I chance a look out the window.

"Where _are _we?" Nothing looks familiar.

"The town over." He replies, and we pull into the seediest looking motel I have ever seen.

"I'm not sure what your plan is here, but I am not going in _there_." I say, nodding at the motel.

"Then you can come with me to get a new car." Riddler says.

"Where the hell are you going to buy a car at this hour? It's three in the morning!" He just looks at me like I'm missing something. "Oh. You're not _buying _a car." He smiles that unhinged smile. "Yeah, I'll wait here."

"Wise choice." He hands me a bundle of cash. "Get a room and I'll be back in an hour." I nod and get out of the car, then lean down to the window.

"You... got Zsasz, right?" I ask. He shakes his head, and I step back and watch him drive away. Perfect. Zsasz is _still_ out there somewhere. I look around the dark parking lot and pull my coat closer around me. It's creepy out here.

I walk quickly over to the glowing neon Reception sign and go inside. It's empty, so I ring the bell on the counter.

"Hello?" I call.

"You lookin' for a room?" An old man shuffles up to the desk.

"Uh, yeah. Please."

"How long?" He asks.

"Just the one night." I say, and he laughs.

"Hours, sweetheart. We charge by the hour."

"Oh." Ew. "Four, I guess. Until seven?" He gives me a price and I pull out the money, count it out and hand it over.

"Here you go." He hands over a key. "Room 6. Enjoy your night." I give him a tight smile and leave, counting off doors to Room 6. I let myself in and almost run back out.  
If the outside was bad, inside is worse.

The wallpaper is peeling, the carpet is stained and nothing looks clean. I take a few tentative steps inside. It's not _so _bad, I guess. It could be worse. I'm not sure how, but it could be.

I text Riddler the room number, but don't receive a reply. Too busy hotwiring some family's SUV, probably. I sat down on the bed, sighing.

"Oh crap." I groan out loud, noticing another problem. Only one bed. Definitely big enough for two people, but still. And especially after yesterday...

I groan again but decide it's high time I figure out what the hell is going on. So I kissed Riddler. Again. Actually, _he _kissed _me_, so what the hell does that mean. Is this going to be a thing?

Do I _want _it to be a thing?

I groan loudly and lie back on the bed, head hurting too much to think any more. I hear a knock on the door and grudgingly get off the bed to let Riddler in. He stands in the doorway, surveying the room in distaste.

"Charming." He says.

"Isn't it?" I stand back to let him in. "Did you get a car?"

"I did. I'll dump it when we get home in the morning." I peek out the door and see a non-descript dark sedan in the parking lot that hadn't been there earlier. I assume that's the car.

"You may as well sleep for a few hours." Riddler says, sitting down in the armchair in the corner of the room.

"What'll you do?" I ask awkwardly. I'm tired as hell, but I don't really want to fall asleep with Riddler in the room.

"I'll be sleeping as well."

I feel a dozen different emotions in the space of three seconds. Where will he be sleeping? In the chair? Or in the bed, with me? I mentally shook myself. I'm a big girl; surely I can share a bed with someone without feeling like a thirteen year old analysing every word a boy says to them.

"Sure." I say eventually. "Are you a right or left side of the bed kind of guy?"

"Left." He says. I smile and kick off my shoes, take off my jacket and slip into the right side of the bed. I watch him out of the corner of my eye as he shrugs off his coat, takes off his shoes and gets into the bed next to me.

* * *

**A/N: **And I think that's your lot.  
Let me know what you thought!


	15. Chapter 15

My life is _so _freaking crazy. I'm lying in bed, next to the Riddler, hiding out from the cops, and I still have school tomorrow. Totally bizarre.

"Um, good night." I say, but it kind of comes out like a question.

"Good night." I hear Riddler say from the darkness next to me. I'm still super tired, but way too keyed up to sleep. So I lie there for a while, just blinking up at the dark ceiling. After a while, the glowing red digital clock on the bedside table reads four o'clock.

"Are you asleep?" I whisper quietly. I kind of want him to be asleep, but I kind of don't. I don't want to be the only one who's feeling hyper aware of the person beside them. I hear the sheets rustle.

"No."

"Me neither." I say, still whispering.

"Obviously." Right. Obviously.

"It's freezing in here." It really is. Like, _really_ cold. I gather my courage. "Don't be weirded out, okay?" I say, and scoot over, closer to Riddler, close enough to feel a little body heat.

"Belle, why would I be weirded out?" He asks. "And 'weirded' isn't a word."

"It totally is a word." I argue. "I can spell it, use it in a sentence, and it has a meaning. It's a word."

"What's its meaning?" He asks, and I can hear the smile.

"Like, creeped out, or whatever."

"That would be a synonym. And 'creeped' isn't really a word, either."

"Oh shut up." I say, and punch him in the arm.

"Are you really cold?" He asks.

"Um, yes? Are you not?"

"Not particularly." He says, and I feel him close the small distance between us on the bed. Oh man. Butterflies erupt in my stomach. I'm not entirely sure when it happened, but at some point I've gone from hating and fearing Riddler, to actually _liking _him. Liking him a whole lot more that I should. That would explain the ridiculous urge I have to kiss him. I take a moment to get up my courage again.

"Um, don't be weirded out by this, either." I say. I reach my hand up slowly, to his face and turn him to face me. _Be brave_, I tell myself, and lean forward and kiss him. I pull back and look at him.

"That was weird. That was weird, right?" I say. He's just looking at me. Oh god, that was totally the wrong thing to do. Now he thinks I'm crazy. He shakes his head at me.  
"Now who's the idiot?" He mutters, more to himself than to me, and pulls me back to him.

Totally _not _the wrong thing to do.

Seven o'clock comes way too quickly. I wake up to Riddler poking me in the side.  
"Come on. We have to go." I jump out of bed and put on my shoes and my jacket. In less than sixty seconds we're out the door and in the car, ready to go.

"It seems absolutely ridiculous that I have to go to school today." I say, half to myself and half to Riddler.

"After seeing your performance in your Science class, I wouldn't suggest skipping any more school."

"Ass." I retort. I really want to ask about last night, even though I can't see Riddler being the type to wax on about feelings and whatever. "Hey, so... About what happened last night, is that going to be something that we do now?" I ask, trying to sound cool and nonchalant. Riddler looks at me sideways and raises an eyebrow. "You know, the hour long make out session? Unless that was a dream. Oh god, was that a dream?" The corners of his mouth twitch up into half a smile.

"Not a dream. You _want_ to do that again?" He asks, dropping the smile and frowning a little.

"Well, yeah." Wait, maybe I'm not meant to be that truthful. Maybe I'm meant to play coy. Or something. Riddler's smile comes back, the one that hints at the craziness he has going on.

"Well, who am I to deny you what you want?"

School goes by quickly, not that I can concentrate anyway. Zsasz is still out there, so are Scarecrow and Joker, and all I want to do is see Riddler. I'm such a freak. I walk home swiftly. I dump my bag in my bedroom, notice a dark figure standing in the corner, run downstairs, pause, run back upstairs to my room, and scream. The dark figure steps forward into the light. No freaking way.

"_Batman_?" He just stands there, looking at me. "How the hell are you here?"

"I was hoping you'd know." He replies. I shake my head.

"I don't, sorry. _When_ did you get here?"

"Two days ago. Gotham Rogues started to disappear. I was trying to find them, and then I was here."

"Well, you found them." I say. "So, good job. But you really can't be here. This is a problem." I frown. "We've been getting rid of the Rogues, but now _you're _here, and I don't think I can do to you what we do to them."

"Why? What have you been doing to them? And who's 'we'?" Batman asks.  
Crap. I really don't want to tell him about Riddler.

"Well, as it turns out, the only way to get them out of my world is to... Oh man, you're not going to like this." I groan. "The only way to get rid of them is to kill them." Batman just stares at me for a beat, then nods, taking the information in stride.

"And who's helping you?" He asks. I don't answer, chewing on my lip. "_Who_?"

"You're not going to like this either, but... it's Riddler."

"Riddler." He repeats.

"Yep." I say, making a popping sound on the _p_.

"You're mad."

"I know, but he's different. Seriously! He's not all, you know, crazy. And he's seriously helping me. I'd be totally screwed without Edward."

"And you're on a first name basis? Belle, he's dangerous. He can't be trusted." Batman says urgently.

"Yeah, maybe he _used _to be. But come on, he's not so bad here!"

"He's the same person he was in Arkham City. You need to step back and let me handle this." He insists. I start to get mad.

"Hey! I'm not some little girl you can pat on the head and tell to run along. I got rid of Jervis Tetch and Killer Croc without your help, and I don't need it now!" I shout.

"I'm trying to _help _you."

"Riddler and I can handle it just fine, thanks very much. So why don't you try and figure out a way to get back to Gotham without having to die. We've got everything else covered." I say. Batman stares at me for a long moment, and I just stare back, refusing to feel intimidated.

"You know how Harley Quinn became what she is?" He asks suddenly.

"Yes?" I answer, confused by the change of topic.

"Don't become Riddler's Harley Quinn." He says, and walks past me and out the door.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm so, _so_ sorry this took so long!  
I've had most of it written for weeks, but I just really didn't like this chapter, and so I didn't post it and didn't post it, but here it is.  
The good news is, I've fixed up the rest of the plot, so you won't have to wait so long again.  
Hope you're still with me!


	16. Chapter 16

I stand there, shocked. That's not what's happening here, right? I mean, I'm not about to snap and start telling riddles am I? I shake my head. No. That was Harley, and I'm me. The situations are totally different. Besides, I have zero desire to start terrorising Gotham, even if Riddler asked me to join him. I sigh and run downstairs, planning on going to see Riddler and tell him about Batman's visit, but almost run into Mom coming through the door.

"Belle! Honey, where are you going?" She asks, frowning.

"Uh, I was going... for a run." I improvise.

"You. Running." Mom says dubiously. "I've hardly seen you for days. You can go running later. Come help me make dinner." She's right. I've been so busy with Riddler I can't even remember the last time I really talked to Mom.

"Sure. What are we making?"

"We haven't had pasta for a while, did you want to make that?" She suggests.

"Sure. I'll grab the ingredients if you find the pasta maker." I smile. Mom kisses the top of my head and smiles back.

"I'm stuffed. If I eat anymore, I'll burst." I declare, pushing my plate away from me.

"Me too." Mom agrees. "We make good pasta." She smiles.

"That we do." I say.

"I'll do the dishes; you go upstairs and do your homework." She says, and I stand to attention like a soldier and salute her. I run up the stairs, two at a time and jump onto my bed. I grab my phone off my desk and roll over so I'm lying on my stomach, and call Riddler.

"Riddle me this. I have one ear, one mouth, no legs; I bear your voice a thousand miles. What am I?"

"Beats me. Guess what?" I hear him sigh.

"A telephone. Obviously." He says. "It was easy."

"Oh yeah, piece of cake." I roll my eyes. "Anyway, guess what?"

"What?"

"I had a visit from your favourite vigilante this afternoon." He's silent for a moment.

"Batman's here?"

"Apparently. Which is so not good."

"Why not?" Riddler asks.

"Well, how can we send him back?"

"The same way we're sending everyone back, of course." He says. I sit up.

"Dude, you can't kill Batman. He's _Batman_."

"Would you rather he stayed here?"

"I dunno. It could be kind of cool." I muse, but then remember the argument this afternoon. "On second thought, no. I told him to figure out a way home without having to die, so maybe he will find a way." I say bitterly. Riddler picks up on my tone.

"What's wrong?"

"I kind of had a... disagreement with Batman." I admit. "About you."

"Oh. About me?"

"Yeah. He... He compared me to Harley Quinn." I say, and I realise just how much that comment got to me.

"Harley Quinn is hardly an intelligent person. It wasn't difficult for Joker to turn her into what she is today."

"What's your point? You're super intelligent, and you run around telling riddles and trying to kill people! I don't think IQ points have anything to do with this." I frown. "You'd have to be a little predisposed to do bad stuff, wouldn't you? Like, even when she was plain old Harleen Quinzel, she must have had a criminal streak. People don't just randomly start terrorising cities, right?"

"One would assume so." Riddler says, without conviction. He's only humouring me.

"So I'm nothing like Harley. Before I met you, I never did anything wrong! Well, I jaywalked, but that doesn't count. Everyone jaywalks. Anyway, Batman's obviously wrong. I'm not about to lose it and start telling riddles and join you. I'm a good guy, like Batman, and you're-"

"And I'm the villain. I know, and that's the way I like it." His voice changes, and he sounds just like he did back in Arkham City. Cold and cruel. "I may be helping you now, but never forget, I'm not a hero. I'm doing this for _fun_. How many people in Gotham can say they've killed Killer Croc? I'm simply learning their weaknesses, and you happen to be gaining from that." I feel like all the air has suddenly rushed out of my lungs. Batman was right. Riddler won't change.

"Good thing we straightened that out before I did anything stupid." I say, making my voice sound just and cold and hard as his. "At least now I won't have to feel bad about having to kill you."

"Oh, you can try sweetheart." He says, and hangs up. I lie back down and stare up at my ceiling. What the hell just happened? I'd called to tell him about Batman, and we end up arguing about good and evil.

And I get the feeling that our truce is over. Selfish as this might sound, what the hell am I going to do without him? Hunt down Zsasz by myself?

I cock my head to the side. _Could _I hunt down Zsasz by myself? I could get a gun, hide out in the park... No. Zsasz would kill me before I could aim at him.

What's Riddler's problem anyway? He _knows _he's the bad guy. He said himself, he likes it. So why is he upset now, because I pointed it out? The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get. If he doesn't want to talk to me, fine. I'm totally okay with that. Who needs him?

¿?

I wake up the next morning, thanking God it's Friday. Mom's already gone when I wake up, as usual, so I go about my morning, having breakfast, getting ready for school and steadfastly refusing to think about Riddler.

All throughout school, I'm acutely aware of the fact that he might be watching me. But even though I get almost every question wrong in Science, I don't get any smug texts telling me the right answers. Maybe he's not watching me after all.

I walk home slowly, taking the short cut through the park. Just as I'm walking through a particularly thick group of trees, I hear footsteps behind me. Normally not a reason for panic, but considering who's on the loose around here at the moment, it's definitely cause for alarm. I spin around, searching for the source of the footsteps, but see no one.

I start walking again, listening carefully now. It might not be Zsasz, I reason with myself. He tends to do his thing at night. Hell, it's probably some jerk from school that followed me to give me a scare so he can laugh about it with his friends later.

I hear the footsteps again, and whirl around instantly, intending to catch the asshole.

"Ah-ha! Oh, _crap_." I say. It's not some loser from school. And it's not Zsasz.

It's Joker.


	17. Chapter 17

"Long time no see girlie. Did you miss me?" Joker asks, leering down at me.

"Actually, no. I was kind of hoping you'd been hit by a car and were lying dead in a ditch somewhere, but hey. We can't have everything, right?"

"So much hostility! What did I ever do to you?" He puts his hand over his heart, mock-hurt. I just stare at him. "Yeah okay. I see your point. So where's Eddie?" He peers over my shoulder, looking around. "Did you two have a fight? A lover's quarrel?"

"It was not a lover's quarrel." I say hotly. "And how did you know?"

"Lucky guess." He smiles. "But this kind of screws up my plans. I was going to kill you to teach Eddie a lesson, but if you two are on the outs, I doubt he'll even care."

"So... You're not going to kill me?" I ask hopefully.

"Oh no, I'll still kill you." He says. "You're mouthy and annoying. I'll just have to find some other way of teaching Eddie a lesson."

"Well, I guess I'll get out of here and let you think of a good lesson in peace."

"That's the second half of my plan. That comes later."

"Well what's the first half of your plan and when does that happen?" I ask, dreading the answer.

"Killing you. And that happens _now_." He takes a step towards me and I take off, running as fast as possible.  
I sprint as hard as I can, and chance a look over my shoulder. I can't see Joker anywhere. Which is either really good news or really bad news.  
I'm entirely too focused on seeing where Joker is and not watching where I'm going, so of course I run into a tree. Hard. I fall down, trying to blink the stars out of my eyes.

"You should really watch where you're going." I hear Joker say from right behind me.  
I let out a strangled scream and jump up, but he grabs my shoulders. Trying to remember the tiny bit of self defence I know, I stamp down on his foot and elbow him in the gut. He doesn't let go, but his grip slackens enough for me to wriggle free and start running again. I glance over my shoulder, only for a second, just to see how much of a head start I go, when I run into something. Again.

But not a tree this time. Something soft and warm that stumbles when I hit it and says "Damn it Belle." Riddler!  
Thank God. Only problem is, is he here to help Joker or help me? There's no time to ask, because just then Joker catches up.

"Eddie! Great to see you, but I'm quite busy. So hand her over."

"No." Riddler says flatly.

"Oh, you're back on that ride? Protecting her? _Boring_!" Joker shouts. "I know what you two are up to, by the way." Riddler and I exchange a quick glance. This can't be good. "Imagine my _surprise_ when Zsasz comes to me, telling me some story about how he was almost shot! By _you_! And when no one had seen Croc or the crazy little man with the hats... Well, I put two and two together. And I told the Good Doctor you were coming, so there goes your element of surprise!"

"Scarecrow's here too?" I ask.

"Oh yes. He's having a ball, testing new types of that funny gas of his." Joker laughs. "Well so long as Eddie is here, ruining my fun, I may as well go. Places to rob, people to kill, you know how it is. See you round, girlie." He says, and walks away, into the trees.

We stand there for a while, not saying anything. I'm half expecting Joker to come back, jump out of the trees and say boo, but he doesn't.  
"Thanks. For stopping Joker, I mean. Again." I say after a while.

"I'd say 'anytime' but it is getting old. Can't you just stop fighting and get along with him?" Riddler says, and his tone is serious, but the corners of his mouth are twitching, so I know he's not.

"I will never stop fighting with Joker. But I would like to not be fighting with _you_." I say, all joking finished. I'm staring down at the ground, finding it hard to look up at him, in case he doesn't want to hear what I have to say. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that stuff about good guys and bad guys. I mean, you've got good in you, just like Batman has bad in him. You didn't have to save me just now, but you did. Batman didn't have to be such a dick the other day, but he was. Maybe I was a little hasty in labelling people Good or Bad. The world isn't so black and white. It's just easier to think of it that way, sometimes." I finish my speech and peek up at him. He looks at me for a moment before he rolls his eyes, says something under his breath that I don't catch, and pulls me to him by my shoulders. We hug for a moment, like a real, hold-you-so-tight-it-almost-hurts hug, and he tilts my chin up and kisses me.

We walk back through the park to our street, holding hands the whole way. It's cute, in a nauseating kind of way. We part at his house, and I continue up the street alone. When I get home, the house is empty. Obviously Mom is still at work. And that is a bad thing, a very bad thing. Because now I'm alone and have time to think. And what I'm thinking isn't happy.

I'm thinking it's going to end up being very painful for me to be in... I'm just going to go ahead and say love, because saying 'in like' sounds stupid. I mean, it's not like being in 'love' with, say, Loki, or the Doctor. They aren't real. I guess Riddler kind of isn't either, but he's real enough at the moment. And he's here, and I can kiss him and hold his hand, and just his being real makes me fall in love with him more than I could with any 2D fictional character. But he can't stay, I know that. Riddler, and Batman, and all the other Arkham inmates have to go back where they came from, and they'll be back to being 2D fictional characters, no different than any other, and yet totally, completely different.

And now I'm crying and my head hurts. Damn it.

I wipe away my tears, take two painkillers and notice that I have a message on my phone.

_Come to my place, ASAP. Before I end up killing the Bat._

I have to read it twice. Does that mean Batman is at Riddler's house? Oh man, this I have _got _to see.

* * *

**A/N: **I know, I know, I'm sorry!  
It's been AAAGES since I updated, and I apologize!  
I've been doing Camp Nano (yes, again) and it's taking up all my writing time. Smaller word goal this month, so I'll be able to keep getting updates to you lovely people!  
To the people who are still with me: Thank you, thank you, thank you!  
To everyone who has given up on my lazy ass: I don't blame you.

Guys. _Guys._  
100 reviews?!  
You're all way too awesome for me.


	18. Chapter 18

I run down the street and start hammering on Riddler's door.

"Edward! Let me in!" I shout. "Edward!" The door swings open and he stands there, one eyebrow raised. "Is Batman seriously in there?" I ask, craning my neck to see around him.

"He is." Riddler says, and steps back to let me in.

"Is he still alive?" I ask doubtfully.

"For the moment." Riddler replies and takes my hand, guiding me into the living room where Batman is standing in front of the couch. While I like the hand holding, I have a feeling it's more about proving something to Batman rather than actually wanting to hold my hand.

Sure enough, Batman's eyes narrow when he notices our hands, but he doesn't say anything.

"So what brings you two into the same room?" I ask casually.

"I've figured out a way to get back to Gotham without having to die." Batman says, quoting me.

"So he thinks." Riddler interjects.

"No kidding?" I ask, interested. I drop Riddler's hand and take a seat on the couch. He takes a seat next to me, draping his arm around the back of the chairs and over my shoulders. He's not usually so touchy-feely, so I'm thinking it's some kind of Alpha male dominance type thing, but whatever.

"What's your idea?" I ask, ignoring Riddler's comment.

"When you were shot, back in Arkham City, you... disappeared after a few moments." Batman said.

"I did?" I say, surprised, glancing at Riddler. He never mentioned this.

"Don't look at me, I was long gone." He shrugged. Of course.

"I thought there may be some possibility of somehow... going back with the body." Batman says. I don't speak for a moment, thinking the idea over.

"You mean hitch a ride back like some kind of inter-dimensional taxi?" I ask. Riddler snorts and shakes his head at me.

"I guess you could put it like that." He says.

"Okay. I can deal with that. So what's the plan? Find a Rogue, kill him and then hold his hand until he disappears?" I ask sarcastically.

"Actually, yes." Riddler replies, rolling his eyes.

"You didn't have any other ideas, Nygma." Batman says.

"Just because I couldn't think of a better one immediately doesn't mean yours will work."

"No, but-"

"Okay!" I interrupt. "It's not ideal, but it's the best we have." I say, trying to calm them down. "How do we go about this? Is that what happens to the Rogues here? They disappear and go back to Gotham?"

"Have you heard of any bodies being found?" Riddler asks.

"No. But I haven't exactly been watching the news." I admit.

"Well I have been. And they haven't found anything. And considering we left Jervis Tetch dead and bloody on the floor of a public library, I would it's a good bet that he wasn't there when they opened the next morning." Riddler says in that irritating I'm-speaking-to-a-two-year-old voice.

"Yeah, well, when you say it like that..."

After an hour and a half of Riddler insulting Batman's intelligence we have a plan. Fairly straight forward, really, shoot a bad guy and hold on to him until he disappears.  
When we finally have a solid plan, Batman stands up to leave.

"Hey, how can we get in contact with you?" I ask. "I mean, the Bat Signal on the roof is cool, but not particularly subtle. And my Mom would probably kill me if I installed one on our house."

"I've got it covered." Riddler says, pulling a mobile phone from his jacket pocket and throwing it to Batman. He catches it without a word, nods at Riddler and I and leaves.

"He's not one for small talk, is he?" I comment after he leaves.

"He's not." Riddler agrees, absentmindedly playing with my hair. "But now we'll always know where he is."

"Wait, what?"

"That phone is registered to me. I can locate it whenever I want."

"What, so you don't trust Batman?" I ask.

"No I don't. The Dark Knight is only looking out for himself." Riddler says, getting defensive. I hold my hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. I don't want another fight about Batman. Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"That you won't use the phone tracking thing to hunt down Batman and kill him." I say, looking him dead in the eye. He rolls his eyes and looks away.

"Fine. I promise I won't." He says, hiding a smile. Not good enough.

"No, damn it Edward, look at me! Promise you won't kill him!" He looks at me for a long moment.

"Okay. I promise not to kill Batman. Here, at least." He says.

"That's good enough for me." I smile. I glance over his shoulder and see the clock on the wall. "Holy crap, it's almost seven o'clock. I have to get home!" I lean forward and kiss him quickly. "Bye!" I jump up and run the whole way home.

¿?

"Belle?" Mom is on me as soon as I walk in the door. "Where were you? I thought something might have happened to you."

"I was... studying. At the library." I say. It's a lame excuse, I know, but whatever.

"Not the Public Library in town?" Mom asks, and something about her tone makes me worry.

"Yeah... Why?"

"I was talking to Mrs Kane, and you know her husband is a police officer, and she said that a woman was kidnapped around there just last week." Oh crap. She's talking about the 'Alice' we saved from Jervis Tetch.

"Oh, um, wow. That's scary." I say.

"It is. I don't want you going there alone anymore, okay?" She says sternly.

"Sure." No problem. Like I could ever go in there again without picturing a dead Jervis on the ground next to the children's books.

"Good." She smiles at me. "Help me with dinner?"

"Yeah, okay." I cut up salad while she cooks some chicken and we take our food outside to the little outdoor table on our back porch.

"Do you have any plans for the weekend?" Mom asks after a while.

"Not really. Just homework. Maybe hang out with some friends."

"Anyone I know?" She asks. Not unless you read Batman comics.

"Yeah, with... Alice." I lie, using the same friend I made up last week.

"Oh good. That should be fun."

"Yeah. Fun." I agree. We eat the rest of our dinner in silence, and I'm thinking just how _fun _it's going to be hunting down Scarecrow, Zsasz and Joker with Batman and Riddler.  
Oh yeah, that should _totally _be fun.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry this took so long (AGAIN) but the next chapter is already half written, promise.  
You people who review are amazing. You people who don't are still amazing, just for reading this.  
Thank you!


	19. Chapter 19

I wake up and smile when I realise it's a Saturday. I take a shower and skip downstairs to find breakfast. Mom is already in the kitchen, cooking eggs.

"Morning Mom."

"Good morning. Do you want some eggs? There's enough for two." She offers.

"I'm okay, thanks. I'll just have toast." I set about toasting the bread and pouring some juice. "What are you doing with your day off?" I ask. We usually spend Saturdays together, and go to the park or to see a movie.

"Well, I was going to go out for a girl's day with your Aunt Caroline and some of the nurses from work, but if you'd rather go see that new Katherine Heigl movie, we can-"

"No! Go out and have your girl's day. I can spend a Saturday by myself." I assure her.

"Are you sure?" Mom asks, looking a little put off by my enthusiasm.

"Yeah. You never hang out with your friends, so go out. I'll drag you to some awful movie next weekend."

"Good deal." Mom smiles. "I'll have a shower and go and get Caroline!" She looks so excited. I smile to myself as she hurries out of the kitchen. Maybe I can have a lazy Saturday, watch some crappy day time TV, eat Lucky Charms out of the box and stay in my pyjamas all day.  
My phone, sitting on the counter beside me, starts to vibrate. I look at the caller ID and sigh. It's Riddler. No lazy day after all apparently.

"Hey, what's up?" I answer.

"It's me." Whoa. That's not Riddler.

"Batman? Uh, hi. Why are you using Edward's phone? Where's yours?"

"I got rid of it."

"What, why?" I ask.

"So Riddler can't track me." Duh. Of course Batman would figure that out.

"Right. Very clever. So what's up?"

"I've found Crane."

"_We _found Crane!" I hear Riddler shout in the background. I laugh.

"When are you going after him?" I ask.

"Tonight." Batman says, and I hear a scuffle.

"Hey! What's going on?" I demand, but get no answer. "Batman?"

"Belle." Riddler says, sounding slightly out of breath.

"Edward? What just happened?"

"I wanted to talk to you, but the Dark Knight here wouldn't give me the phone. So I took it." He says, sounding a little proud of himself.

"Good for you. Why did you want to talk to me so badly?" I ask, trying not to laugh.

"Hold on a second." He says, and then it sounds like he puts his hand over the phone, but I can still hear him, but only just. "Can I have some privacy?" Riddler says.

"Why would you need privacy?" Batman says.

"None of your business, Detective. Now leave."

"I'm not leaving you alone."

I roll my eyes. This could go on all day.

"Just say what you want to say, Edward." I interrupt whatever he's about to say to Batman. He gives a long suffering sigh.

"Fine. I was wondering if you'd like to come over today for lunch." He says, oddly formal.

"Yeah, sure." I answer. Then I have a thought. "Wait... Is this like, a _date_?"

"Well, yes."

"Oh!" Wow. A date with Edward Nygma.

"Does that make a difference?" He asks.

"What? No! My answer is still yes. See you then." I hear Riddler pass the phone back to Batman.

"We're going after Scarecrow tonight. Meet us here at eleven o'clock."

"Yes sir." I say. "I'll be there." Batman doesn't answer and hangs up.

Now I'm faced with a dilemma. What the hell do I wear for a date with The Riddler?

¿?

I fidget and pace around the house all morning, until Mom finally leaves. The moment she's out the door, I race upstairs to my room and start digging through my clothes, looking for something to wear. Everything is either not dirty or not dressy enough. Half an hour and about thirty costume changes later, I have an outfit. A pretty green top and jeans. Yes, I'm wearing jeans, but they're nicer than the ratty ones I usually wear, so I figure that counts as dressed up.

Next task is hair and makeup. I try curling, straightening, pulling it up, letting it down and a mixture of all four before just letting my hair sit like it usually does, out around my shoulders and pushed back off my face. Makeup stays light, with a little extra around my eyes.  
At five to twelve I give myself a final once-over. Not fantastic, but not too bad, either. I grab my bag and walk down the street to Riddler's house.  
To my surprise, Batman opens the door when I knock.

"Uh, hi?" I say, startled.

"This is a mistake." He says, staring me down. Well I guess I knew he'd feel like this.

"You'll have to excuse him. He was just leaving." Riddler says from behind him. The two men glare at each other before Batman turns and leaves. Riddler grabs my hand and leads me inside, still frowning.

"Something smells good." I comment, trying to relieve some of the tension. I can see two plates on the table, covered by two silver domes.

"That would be lunch." Riddler grins. "I hope you like salmon."

"Uh, yeah. Totally." Actually, I've never had it before, but it's just fish. How bad could it be? Riddler pulls a chair out from the table for me.

"Such a gentleman." I say, only half kidding. Who knew Gotham Rogues had class?  
He takes a seat across from me and we both lift the covers from the plates. My mouth instantly starts to water. Riddler picks up a fork and I do the same. After the first bite I know I'll never be able to eat Mom's cooking again. She's good, but this is amazing.

"So what's the occasion?" I ask after a few moments of silence.

"Occasion?" Riddler repeats.

"Yeah. Why are we having a fancy lunch date?"

"Seeing as it looks like I'll be going back soon, I thought I may as well take this opportunity." He shrugs. And that's when it really hits me. Riddler will be gone. Not here anymore. I won't be able to run down the street and see him. Riddler is going, and I really, _really _don't want him to.


End file.
